The following is the second installment that covers the experiences and realities happening in Alabama after the passage of HB 56, the worst anti-immigrant law in the country. This is the second installment out of three. For the first post that deals on how Alabama first passed its anti-immigrant law, go here.
As time passed, efforts were made to directly organize and empower the immigrant communities here in Alabama. With the help of allies, undocumented immigrants in the state of Alabama slowly began taking ownership of our own future and of our reality. Actions throughout Alabama would draw dozens, then hundreds, and then thousands, all in direct opposition to HB 56.
In June, over 2,000 people turned out for a march in Birmingham, flooding the city in a sea of white shirts; in July, hundreds came out to Montgomery and marched to the Capitol; and during the week leading up to August 24, the date for the first hearing on HB 56, undocumented youth from the Birmingham area organized a three-day vigil outside of the Hugo L. Black Courthouse. However, it was after September, when Judge Sharon Blackburn made the controversial decision to allow HB 56 to pass the courthouse relatively unscathed, that communities in Alabama begin to organize and empower themselves on a higher level.
On the day before Judge Blackburn made her decision, I remember lying in bed, trying to digest the reality that would come the next day, attempting to grasp that the state and the country that I considered my own was turning its back on others, as well as myself. Growing up, I always wondered how it felt to be able to go out and do something as simple as drive without having to worry about whether the police would stop you. When I was younger, I remember asking my mother how it felt to be free to do as one wished, to be able to truly pursue happiness, and to be able to have a time where such a sentiment could be felt. I had not felt it in over a decade.
After September, when Judge Blackburn allowed the majority of HB 56 to go through, our movement truly took flight. Allies and undocumented immigrants intertwined, eliminating a need for distinction of one another. We rallied, organized, mobilized, and grew together not as a coalition but as a family, which led to the motto behind our campaign; One family, One Alabama. Una Familia, Una Alabama. Our movement here in Alabama has taken us across the state and across barriers we never thought we'd cross. The most beautiful scenes are that of people in motion, the scene that encapsulates the desires and yearning of a people for justice, a scene which paints a picture with a flooding of colors and emotions that fuel our struggle, and the ability to juxtapose events and recognize the same faces, as well as the rapid arrival of new ones.
The people of Alabama not only have to fight back against the law; we also have to fight back against a legislature who doesn't listen to its own people. At the public hearings for any piece of legislation related to immigration, the overwhelming voice has called for a repeal of the law. HB 56 was not even written by an Alabamian; it was written by Kris Kobach, a man who can't be bothered to keep his anti-immigrant fervor to his own state and must atone his legislative shortcomings by carpetbagging his way to Alabama.
In Alabama, many wanted to paint us as a frightened community needing some form of vicarious redemption. We have suffered, but we have not lost, nor will we ever allow ourselves to be defeated. In Fall, I remember driving home with an old community leader, having to hear the despair and agony in his voice as he asked me why all of this was happening; why was this law meant to deny us our humanity; and why he, an undocumented immigrant, felt as if he had no humanity left. Earlier this year, I had to deal with my neighbor choosing to take her American-born children with her to Mexico because her husband was deported. My experiences are not rare, and if given the chance, I am sure many others would share the pain we have gone through.
Here in Alabama, we have been dealt the hardest hand in the nation, and yet we continue to fight. We don't pray for easier lives; we pray to be stronger people, and that is what we are and will continue to be. These laws won't move us.
At the moment, we are involved in a battle to halt the passage of HB 658, a piece of legislation that is even worse than the original HB 56, a piece of legislation that further sucks the state of Alabama to the confines of its masochistic relationship with policies that hurt Alabamians. Alabama has an opportunity to right a wrong and ridding ourselves of HB 56 is our only solution.
Follow Victor Palafox on Twitter: www.twitter.com/IYLIAlabama
Driver or Learner License (age 16 and older)
· Two forms of identification, at least one of which contains a photograph (one
form must be from the “primary” list, in addition to the Social Security card) or
three forms of non-photo identification (one form must be from the “primary” list,
in addition to the Social Security card).
· Social Security card.*
· Acceptable school enrollment form or proof of graduation (if younger than 19 and
applying for the first time).**
· $5 test fee (no checks).
· Applicants 18 or older who wish to complete all testing for a license must have a
licensed driver, proof of car insurance and a vehicle that will pass inspection.
· $23.50 to purchase license (no checks).
http://dps.alabama.gov/Documents/Documents/DriverLicense-HowToObtain.pdf
It is a nice thing that the US allows foreigners in violation of our laws to protest openly without immediately rounding them up and deporting them as most nations (their own included) would do.
But don't get the idea that those protests against a standing law, especially one popular with citizens, will get you anywhere. The people of the US have been protesting marijuana laws for decades and they are no closer now to legalization on the Federal level than they were in 1980.
If you wish, say it loud, say it often, say it in any language you wish. But say it in your own country because as much as you say it here it is not going to make it true.
What American wants our laws torn down so lives of the illegal aliens can be easier? If they don't obey our laws or if they are illegal aliens they should move on and not try and turn Ala into another Mexican state where laws mean nothing.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120510/NEWS0201/305090052/Senate-rejects-immigration-law-repeal-attempt
You shall neither wrong a stranger, nor oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
*Does not apply to Illegals
No one denies that you are all are human. But you have chosen to break the law by sneaking into a country that HAS immigration laws. Using these words and phrazes only emphasize the fact that you dont belong in THIS country. YOUR country of ORIGIN is the country that dehumanized you by not giving you a livable wage and having you feel the need to excape. All we citizens ask is that you do things the right way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions
From the link YOU provided.
El Salvador is today a prosperous and democratic nation. In 2002, a BBC article about President George W. Bush's visit to El Salvador reported that "U.S. officials say that President George H.W. Bush's policies set the stage for peace, turning El Salvador into a democratic success story."[103]
SCOTUS will rule on SB1070 and most of it will likely stand - setting precedent that is long overdue. They are bound to interpret the laws as written and the intent of congress, which is clearly in favor of enforcement of those laws.
The feds have the right to regulate immigration and our laws are clear. It is and will remain a breach of the law on many levels to enter the country, stay and work without permission. Equally case law precedent confirms the rights of city and state police to concurrently enforce civil and criminal provisions of federal immigration law. Even the much vaunted Morton memo is clear in that ICE does not and may not actually have prosecutorial discretion and any illegal is subject to the full force of the law. At best prosecution may be delayed.
Lastly without effective enforcement and a reliable means to regulate immigration, ALL other arguments or discussions are moot.
"""I remember lying in bed, trying to digest the reality that would come the next day,"...etc...etc...etc...
Go back to your own country......You can do all those things...drive...have freedom...go to school.....pursue happiness...etc...etc....
Show your parents that you are a better person and you are doing the right thing....don't keep following your parents footsteps....if you go back and apply to come to the US the proper way...you can just wait your turn like the rest..and by the way......take the rest of the group with you...teach them values too...go fight back in your country and stop taking advantage of ours...go back and march in your country and make the demands their...open your mouths and speak up in your own country instead of staying here and constantly break laws...where is your dignity...pride...values and respect..???